Page 42 of Tempting Her Forbidden Boss

‘You meant it, didn’t you?’ Alex unlocked the car.

‘Meant what?’

‘That you enjoyed hearing about Sara’s work.’

Dani slid into the seat. ‘So what if I did?’

His smile broadened. ‘And you can be so nice to people. So social.’

‘I’m house-trained too,’ she said witheringly. ‘Isn’t that an advantage?’

His smile gave way to laughter then.

‘Well, really, Alex, what did you think—that I’d sit there sullen and stupid all night?’

‘No, but nor did I expect you to have half the room hanging on your every word and have them falling over each other to talk to you.’

‘That wasn’t me,’ she said acidly. ‘That was my status. Walking in with Alex Carlisle, I couldn’t be anything but a success.’

‘Why do you insist on hiding behind a wall of sarcasm from even the vaguest compliment?’ He accelerated. ‘Dani, it was you. I’ve seen far more famous women, far more supposedlyimportantwomen, fail to have anything like that effect on a group like that. You charmed them.’

‘I didn’t. I just talked to them.’ Dani fidgeted with the side seam of her jeans. ‘Why were you in such a rush to leave, anyway?’

‘I want you.’

Okay, that was to the point and something of a relief given the lust she was grappling with. Even so, she couldn’t resist a tease. ‘But I have a headache,remember?’

* * *

Alex dragged himself away from her warm, sleepy body, showered and dressed. Made himself a nuclear-strength coffee and forced the bitterness down his throat. He needed the caffeine hit. He powered up the computer on the desk overlooking the garden, then checked his phone. There were five messages waiting. He scrolled and then stilled. One was from Patrick, which he ignored. One was from the investigator.

Alex didn’t care how early it was, he was paying the man enough to be able to call him any time—even two hours before dawn. The guy was impressively lucid considering he’d just been woken—but there wasn’t much to report. Nothing on Dani’s brother. Not good enough.

‘Where else can you look? There must be something, right?’ He was increasingly determined to find him for her. The investigator explained the problem—when searching the birth records, Dani’s mother’s name wasn’t coming up anywhere, which meant that at the time of her son’s adoption the original birth certificate was sealed. So, without a court order, the only person who can access the full details on the certificate is that child himself—no one else, not even his sister. The investigator needed to find him through other means. He asked if Alex knew any more details.

‘No. I don’t have more details—no date, no photo, no nothing. There can’t have been that many babies adopted out that year. Check the ones before and after. Just find him.’ He jabbed the end button and tossed it in the bench. Damn.

A faint sound alerted him. Whirling round, he saw her—in the doorway, her wide eyes searching his, so full of fearful hope. Alex winced. He wasn’t big on bursting bubbles for people. And so he did it quick—less painful that way, right?

‘There’s nothing yet, sorry, Dani. It’s not looking good.’

For a moment she did nothing, the shock etched on her face. She believed he could help, didn’t she? Frustration burned hotter inside him. He wanted to be able to. He wanted to smooth away that pinched look—to sweep the pain from her eyes. He moved. But she did too—turning her back to him.

‘I’m going to make breakfast.’ She opened the fridge. ‘Pizza. Sounds weird, I know, but it’s the only thing I can cook. You’ve got ready-made bases in here. I saw them the other day. Spinach and egg. Some people think it’s gross but I love it.’

Alex said nothing, just stood on the other side of the bench and watched her sudden burst of busyness. She put the bases, spinach, eggs and cheese down. Found his biggest knife.

‘Do you have pasta sauce? I need some pasta sauce.’

Hell, she looked tired. And suddenly he too felt exhausted. Maybe they should both just go back to bed—to sleep.

By now she had the board. The green leaves were under the guillotine.

‘Dani.’ He risked life and limb and put his hand on hers. ‘We’ll do everything to find him for you, I promise. Everything.’ He applied more pressure to his grip. ‘You can trust me, okay?’

‘Sure.’ The knife hit the board.

Bang, bang, bang.

---